Free Republic

On Friday, Hungary’s Finance Minister Mihaly Varga told his EU counterparts that his country could not support a corporate tax reform at this time, thereby blocking an agreement at the EU level. After Poland dropped its opposition to a minimum corporate tax of 15% on large multinationals, an EU agreement was expected on Friday, but Hungary emerged as a last-minute stumbling block, preventing a deal that required the support of all 27 EU nations. In a public session of the meeting, Varga informed finance ministers, “Hungary cannot support the passage of the global minimum tax guideline at this point.” He...

Earlier this week, French anti-terrorist police arrested a man in his 40s who is believed to have been behind at least sixty car burnings since 2017, many of the vehicles belonging to public companies. The man, who was not identified by name, was arrested last weekend and has been placed in pre-trial detention after being accused of setting at least 60 vehicles on fire since 2017, many of them belonging to various companies, including telecommunications companies. The anti-terrorist sub-directorate (SDAT) of the judicial police is said to have carried out the arrest after the man was accused of setting a...

The Biden administration promised this week to ban “conversion therapy” for minors who claim they are members of the opposite sex. The push is wrapped up in the Biden administration’s attempt to repress religious liberty, and attempts to codify the claim that people can select which sex they wish to be.

I love the early summer liturgical "trifecta" of Pentecost, Trinity, and Corpus Christi, forming a kind of "encore" to the joyful Easter Season focusing in succession on three fundamental realities of the Christian life: The Church, the Triune Godhead, and the Eucharist. This "trifecta" comes to an end this week with the celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Readings for this Solemnity obviously focus on types and descriptions of the Eucharist, but there is a notably priestly theme that also runs through them. In this way, we observe the connection between priesthood and Eucharist. This connection first...

More commercial airline pilots discuss COVID-19 vaccine injuries and the “hostile” industry environment injured and unvaxxed pilots must navigate. Sharp chest pains. Myocarditis and pericarditis. Heart attacks. Strokes and subsequent blindness. These are just some of the many COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse events reported by commercial airline pilots and by a growing number of advocacy groups representing aviation industry workers. According to these individuals and groups, the number of pilots speaking out about their vaccine injuries is dwarfed by the number of pilots who are still flying despite experiencing concerning symptoms — but not speaking out because of what they describe...

I encourage you all to write the CEO of Walmart (doug.mcmcmillon@walmart.com). I sent a copy to Mr. Lindell (fishsnager@yahoo.com) as well. I realize many of us are not going to be able to avoid spending money at Walmart; but, we can sure quit spending some of it there! Here is my email to the CEO of Walmart: Dear Mr. McMillon, I would like to remind you: "There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else." - Sam Walton. By making a political...

Vince McMahon "voluntarily stepped back" from his role as WWE CEO and chairman while its board investigates alleged misconduct, the company said Friday. Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, was named interim CEO and interim chairwoman. Vince McMahon will retain his role in regards to WWE’s creative content. "I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the Special Committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation. I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are," he said in a statement. Stephanie McMahon added: "I love this company and am committed...

Joe Biden is letting one of the largest illegal migrant caravans in history move into the U.S., with no effort to stop it. Texas's governor, Greg Abbott, isn't. According to a very interesting report by Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies, the record-sized 15,000-strong caravan has run into interference from the Texas governor and his counterpart in the adjacent Mexican state of Coahuila, who had the foresight to sign an agreement in April about border security. Bensman writes: AUSTIN, Texas — When Mexico last week granted federal humanitarian travel permits to 15,000 U.S.-bound third-country migrants who’d formed the...

Decades of ignoring the menaces posed by Russia and China has led the West to a precipice. ... Deterrence, however, does not disintegrate overnight. Contrary to the narrative of U.S. belligerence and imperialism that has been impressed on countless university students, the United States has, since the end of World War II, largely pursued a policy of restraint despite its considerable military power. Unlike other superpowers, it has not sought territories or treasure—on the contrary, it incurred considerable expense to foster a peaceful international order where other nations could thrive. Under the belief that a market economy, normal trading relations,...

Eight dads are sharing how abortion has helped them become the fathers they are today, on what experts believe will likely be the last Father's Day before the Supreme Court issues a ruling that would overturn Roe v Wade. In May, a leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion on the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban indicated the Court is poised to overturn Roe v Wade, the 1971 Supreme Court decision that established the constitutional right to abortion care. The draft is not a formal decision and the court has not ruled on the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban. Abortion is still...

Aside of fries with a burger is a staple. But countries like Japan depend on American growers for most of the frozen potatoes that are processed into fries and sold at major chains — and a dwindling stock of potatoes has put fast-food chains in a pickle. Japanese restaurant swaps fries for ramen noodles amid french fry shortage Unmute 0 Burger King, which operates over 150 restaurants in Japan, found a way around the shortage. Until new supplies finally arrive, customers are being asked to swap out fries for something Japan has no shortage of: ramen noodles. Burger King calls...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has the edge over Donald Trump to score the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, according to the latest odds in the betting market PredictIt.

A Disney World employee was among 12 men nabbed by Florida law enforcement for allegedly soliciting children for sex online, officials said. The suspects, between the ages of 20 and 67, are facing a total of 49 felony charges following a two-week-long undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Child Protector II,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday. Among those arrested is 30-year-old Zachary Hudson, who was employed as a bus driver at Disney World, cops said. Between June 4 and 5, Hudson allegedly exchanged online messages with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old girl. The detective asked Hudson if he...

At least seven staffers who work for CBS News' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" were arrested after allegedly entering a U.S. House of Representatives building, specifically the Longworth House Building, where they were not legally permitted to be, according to Fox News. They had been escorted out from January 6 select committee hearing because they did not have the proper press credentials, which is investigating the actions of people who were also not where they were legally allowed to be. Despite being escorted out, the seven people re-appeared that night after the Capitol complex was closed to the public....

Last month, when a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion indicated that judges were preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade and the Biden administration started weighing its options, New York writer April Salazar was one person watching the news very closely. That's because the right to abortion had been vital to her not so long ago. Salazar and her husband, back in 2013, had made the decision to have an abortion when she was far along in her pregnancy — 21 weeks gestation — after doctors discovered their in-utero son had a lethal birth defect. “It was very surprising to find...

Public unaware...Screenshot from the online survey given to teachers at Massachusetts middle schools. As we described earlier, the teaching profession has been overwhelmed by dysfunctional people and committed radicals....Last month, a middle school teacher in Saugus, Massachusetts shared with MassResistance a disturbing survey that the teachers at her school were being asked to fill out. It was also given to teachers at another middle school nearby, and likely others. The survey was written by the Everett LGBTQ+ Youth Space and Resource Center (ELYSRC), a slick “local” LGBT organization which clearly appears to be organized and funded by outside forces. The...

A 66-year-old male blood donor turned away from the clinic after refusing to answer a question about whether he was pregnant as part of a pre-donation questionnaire. Male donor denied admission after he refused to tell if she was pregnant For nearly 50 years, Leslie Sinclair has transfused an impressive 125 pints of blood. After complaining, he said the staff told him they couldn’t accept his blood donation. For nearly 50 years, Leslie Sinclair has transfused an impressive 125 pints of blood. But his last trip was turned down after he refused to answer a question about whether he was...

Think about the relationship between faith and abortion, at least in the United States, and you might conjure up images of prayer circles at the March for Life, or protesters outside clinics, or a priest giving a sermon on the sanctity of life. Religion is often associated with an anti-abortion stance in the American popular imagination—and white Evangelicals have been encouraging that connection for decades. Now those efforts are culminating in the most disastrous year for abortion access since Roe v. Wade was decided 49 years ago, and in the Supreme Court’s likely reversal of Roe. But many of us...

DYI Mini Split Heat Pump, I did it! And it works very well! My existing Trane AC sadly died an early death at a very young 27 years.; RIP. I did have the need R-290(Not the old Texas R-1bbq refrigerant, real R290, no water vapor) to revive it, but then the fan solenoid gave out. And we said our goodbyes. Our daughter and HVAC guy S.I.L. put on an addition and went with a Mitsubishi/Trane mini split system, the Cadillac of heat pumps $$$. They love it! And last year my brother an MIS, installed his own Pioneer mini split...

Changing your idea of what robots can do – that’s the slogan of Boston Dynamics. Founded in 1992 by Marc Raibert as a spin-off company from MIT, its early days were spent making training videos for the navy. Only later did the company begin delving into the world of robots – amassing a level of expertise unsurpassed throughout the industry.In fact, Boston Dynamics’s achievements look like the opening montage from a science fiction movie. Starting with the cumbersome BigDog – a quadruped robot designed for the military – the company has seen each new generation of robots surpass the last...